A3 Scanners start with home/small business models (i.e. ScanExpress A3) that are not as fast or well built as the heavy duty scanners. They are very popular because of the price and do a great job for the occasional scan, if you were scanning all day you'd soon wish you'd spent a little more as time is money.
The choice for A3 is Microtek http://www.microtek.com.au/ (9800XL is A3) |brochure| they have been making scanners for a very long time (made scanners for Agfa too) Microtek have won many awards. They are much more solid and faster than a basic A3 scanner, you can also add a Transparency adaptor (lid with moving light) for film & X-Ray etc. In 2010 the new model is the 1600XL A3, this scanner is build for speed and ideal for documents and general imaging.
The A3 Microtek 1000XL is the flagship with a dynamic range of 4.0 which means is does a great job on all film as well as reflective (photos etc.) this combined with "Digital Ice" allows the scanner to repair damaged film |brochure|
Look at great buys we've added.. We've just done another bulk purchase so we can offer deals on Digital Cameras to Laser Printers at great prices! |more|
Price list A3 Scanners
Just Arrived!
July 2010
Mirotek FileScan 1600XL
Super fast document scanning.
Affordable Large A3 Document Imaging Scanner
At 200 dpi, the FileScan 1600XL is able to process a colorful A3-format document in less than 3 seconds, letting you easily scan oversized originals, contact sheets, large pieces of art and mechanical blueprints, which dramatically increases your productivities with a reasonable price.
Bundled with a newly improved ScanWizard DI program, the FileScan 1600XL offers you full document scanning tools and on-screen proofing, providing a host of features and image adjustment controls. Furthermore, contained with 800-dpi optical resolution, the FileScan 1600XL ensures that your scans will catch all the details and color fidelity presenting in the originals. Also, equipped with the Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) interface, the FileScan 1600XL gives effortless "plug-and-play" connectivity.
See the Microtek 1600XL A3 Scanner in action!
Specifications
Scanner Type
Desktop color flatbed scanner
Image Sensor
CCD (Charge-Coupled Device)
Lamp Source
Cold Cathode Tube
Scanning Modes
Color, grayscale, and black-and-white in a single scanning pass
Resolution
Optical: 600 dpi x 600 dpi
Interpolated: 800 dpi x 800 dpi
Scanning Area
12" x 17" (305 x 431.8 mm)
Interface
Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0)
Dimensions (L x W x H)
24.7" x 14.8" x 5.1" / 627.4 x 375.9 x 129.5 mm
Weight
20.9 lbs. / 9.5 kg
Power
100V~240V; 47-63 Hz
Consumption: 38 watt max.
Environment
Operation temperature:
10 o C~40 o C (50 o F~105 o F)
Relative Humidity:
20% to 85%
System Requirements
CD-ROM drive (for install software)
Color monitor with 24-bit color capability
256MB or more recommended
Pentium IV PC or higher with Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) port
PC and compatibles
Windows XP/Vista
Features and Benefits
Ultra high scanning speed for an A3-sized scanner
The FileScan 1600XL increases your productivity with fast scanning speed, which is less than 3 seconds at 200 dpi for color scans in A3 size.
Large 12" x 17" scan bed
The large 12" x 17" scan bed of the FileScan 1600XL easily and effectively transforms your physical over-sized document into digital files for the future use.
Hi-Speed USB port
Hi-Speed USB is capable of high data transfer rates of up to 480 Mbit/sec, providing the high data transfer rate via the included Hi-Speed USB cable.
Advanced ScanWizardDI scanning software
An all-in-one control panel gives you the power to scan photos or documents without having to initiate a scanning session on the screen. It provides a simple and straightforward control over the scanning process. With the newly added functions and updated features, the ScanWizardDI lets you perform a quick and accurate scan which save your time and make your work more efficiently.
Preset Setting
This feature allows you to save current image settings as a preset setting with a user-defined name. The saved preset setting can be loaded later when needed, which saves time and brings convenience if you consistently work in a specific format, scan the same kind of the images, or if the scanner is shared to use by others who have their own image settings. The Preset Setting Wizard is another choice to create your own preset setting, which is a simple and easy way without any complicated procedures. If it is your first time to use the Preset Setting function, it is recommended to use this wizard to help you accomplish your first preset setting.
Improved Auto-crop
With a new algorithm, the auto-crop function automatically detects the size of the original image, crops the full scan frame to fit the image, and removes unwanted black borders after the scan.
Improved Auto-deskew
With a new algorithm, the auto-deskew function automatically rotates and corrects the distorted image for proper alignment after the scan.
Document Enhancement
This feature brings out and improves the readability of text in a document that includes other elements such as color, pictures, or graphs.
Automatic Color Restoration
This feature brings faded colors back to life and to their near-original colors.
Color Dropout
Red, green, and blue colors can be dropped out to allow the scanned images and data to be presented more clearly for use in OCR and data capture application.
Scan directly to PDF
Allows you to capture any paper document and directly save it as an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file with different compression levels for viewing.
Scan for Copy
Allows you to capture paper document and send it to your printer, transforming your scanner and printer into a convenient copy station. Whether you are in the office, home or school, you can easily print or copy handouts, memos, research papers, assignments, photographs -- almost anything within your reach.
Scan for OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
The built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) engine instantly converts a scanned document into text that can be edited in any word processing application.
Prices on this and others like the Microtek 9800XL A3 scanner.
Note this is not a "Gray Market" version and it comes with
Australian warranty.
The ScanExpress 600 Scanner A3
Uses a revolutionary new 48-bit colour scanning system. Capable of scanning A3, the ultra-slim A3 is perfectly suited to scan complete book spreads, two letter-sized pages (simultaneously), large-format magazines, legal or tabloid-sized documents, photographs and more, all in stunning colour. Bundled with a complete suite of photo-retouching tools, OCR and other software, the A3 is a solid performer.
The ScanExpress 600 Scanner A3 has an optical resolution of 600 x 1200 dpi and a maximum software enhanced resolution of 9600 dpi. With its 36-bit colour abilities, the A3 can recognize over 68.7 billion colons internally and save up to 16.7 million colours, the maximum number of colours displayable by Windows.
The ScanExpress 600 Scanner A3 is a TWAIN compliant scanner. Through TWAIN, the A3 can scan directly into many supported applications, providing flexibility and value.
Compact Design
The overall dimensions of the ScanExpress 600 Scanner A3 are 22.1" x 15.1" x 3.4" making it one of the most compact and efficient large-format scanners in the world. With it's small size and easy installation, it is highly transportable.
Easy To Use
The (PC only) Direct Scan Program automatically launches when you open the scanner cover. Choose the destination for your scanned document from iPhoto Plus, Omnipage Pro OCR, Fax, Print or e-mail. Press the scan button and your document will automatically be sent to the proper application. Users who desire more control over scanner settings can disable the Direct Scan Program and use the ScanExpress Scanner A3 TWAIN driver instead.
For scan to PDF we offer PDF software upgrade (extra $129) |more|
ScanExpress 600 USB A3 Flatbed Scanner
Price List
Features:
1. Low cost A3-sized scanning.
2. Quick and easy USB interface
3. Multiple functions include Scan, Copy, e-mail, Fax and OCR
4. Valuable Software Packages included for OCR and Imaging
A3 Scanners review page sizes here and see printers that can print A3, A2, A1 & A0 sizes here.
When we reviewed the Twain Scanner A3 below someone asked us what TWAIN stands for, well believe it or not Technology Without An Important Name!
TWAIN is a standard for letting the scanner talk to the software without the software needing to know how the scanner scans, just that it will do the job. In Photoshop for example you select the "TWAIN Source" to start scanning.
The Twain Scanner A3 is slower than the more expensive models so if you're scanning hundreds of pages per week it's not for you. If you scan a plan now and then it's a smart choice. Most people will scan at 150 to 300 DPI for an A3 colour page as 300DPI = 100MB uncompressed file!
Every time you double the DPI you quadruple the file size.
Think of it as a home scanner on steroids, not a pro-graphics or pre-press A3 scanner like the Microtek 9X00 series.
The new ScanMaker 9800XL is Microtek´s newest member of the A3 scanner family and builds on the success of the ScanMaker 9600XL with greatly improved specifications and connectivity.
The large 17 x 12 scanning area combines with a very high 1600 x 3200dpi resolution to cover almost all reflective scanning requirements.
The improved optional transparency adaptor now offers a very large 16 x 12 scan area and the maximum density of 3.7D captures huge amounts of subtle highlight and shadow details, with accurate colour values. The transparency adaptor option also includes a set of film templates for 35mm slides, 35mm strips, medium format film and 5 x 4 film. Extra holders can be purchased too making this the perfect scanner for producing large contact sheets with the ability to deliver high quality final scans too.
To cover almost all connectivity requirements, three interface options are included as standard, FireWire, SCSI-2 and USB.
A PCI FireWire card for Windows and cable, plus a USB cable are also included. Windows NT users can also use this scanner with the addition of a SCSI card and cable.
Features
• Bit Depth 48-bit
• Color Passes Single pass
• Optical Resolution 3200 x 1600 dpi
• Max. Interpolated Resolution 12,800 dpi
• Scan Area 12 x 17 (Reflective)
• Interface Type Dual interface: USB and SCSI-II.
• Platform Windows and Macintosh
• Option Accessories Transparent Media Adapter for scanning transparencies up to 12 x 16 (See below for $).
• Warranty: 1 Year RTB.
Reviews
The top A3 scanner is the capable Microtek SM 9800XL
The ScanMaker 9800XL offers an excellent combination of versatility and quality.
Extremely good flatbed scanner that’s built to last and produces scans that are top notch. Excellent for entry level pre-press use.
It was virtually impossible to produce a scan that we were unhappy with from a subjective point of view, which is just about as fine a sub pre-press recommendation as you can get without being picky.
